1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to hinges, especially to hinges that can be adjusted, without removal, to raise or lower a door that is binding or otherwise dragging at the top or bottom and to correct a misalignment of the door lock if needed.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Most, if not all consumers, have installed a hinge that is fixed in its construction which could be described basically as two pieces of metal joined on one side by a pin that allows each to rotate back and forth on the pin.
There are a wide variety of hinges of this sort for dwelling doors, cabinet doors, gates of all kinds, etc., but few allow for an adjustment in the up or down movement without removing the hinge and resetting to the desired level. The following U.S. Pat. Nos. represent the prior art hinges: 442,557; 843,081; 2,373,955; 2,588,258; 3,007,193 and 4,381,580. No adjustable hinges were found that could be universally be used on homes except the present invention. That is to say that the above mentioned patents will only work 50% of the time, either on a left hand door or a right hand door. This being the case, they cannot be interchanged. Whereas the present invention would provide a hinge that could be used in any configuration because it has no top or bottom and would require no significant instructions for installation. This hinge has no unsightly knob or protrusion extending above or below the center pin which makes it more acceptable in today's modern construction plans. This hinge has a minimal number of parts for cost of production. The end result being a retail price that would be acceptable to potential customers. The misalignment of a door causes great inconvenience in that it takes great effort to shut, and wont stay shut because the locking mechanism is out of line with the receptacle. The door must be removed, the hinges must be reset, or the top or bottom of said door must be trimmed off, or both, to realign.
Most users, therefore, would find it desirable to have an adjustable hinge that would raise or lower the said door without trimming the door or removing the hinge and could be done in a relatively short period of time.